After the relative calm of the first leg between these two
greats of Spanish Football, the second leg in the Vicente Calderon Stadium was
always likely to be a much livelier affair. So it proved on a night of high
emotions and plenty of goal action, as Barcelona eventually overcame nine-man
Atletico to progress into the next round of the Copa del Rey.

Barcelona had gained a slender one goal advantage from the
home leg after Lionel Messi had first missed a penalty but then scored the
rebound, placing the onus on last year's La Liga champions in the second leg.
They responded immediately with yet another strike from the returning old boy,
Fernando Torres, whose loan signing from AC Milan is seeming like a better deal
every day for the Madrid side.

His goal in the first minute brought the two sides
level on aggregate and set the match up perfectly for the entertainment and
high drama to follow. It was just like the Torres of old, as he brought a high
ball down, bamboozled Javier Mascherano and fired his shot home off the post.

Barca responded swiftly and were back in front on aggregate
after 9 minutes through a Neymar goal, after a classy counter-attack by the
visitors involving Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar himself.

In a first-half that demonstrated what cup football is all
about, the Madrid side re-took the lead on the night when they were awarded a
penalty on the half-hour, which Raul Garcia coolly converted. Mascherano's foul
on Juanfran looked perhaps a shade outside the box, but the referee decided
otherwise.

The Catalan giants were in no mood to lose their grip on
the tie and were in front on the night before half-time, as first an own goal
by Miranda drew them level at 2-2, and then the Brazilian Neymar struck again
four minutes before the break.

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His close range goal from a Jordi Alba set-up
was only half the story though, as Atletico were still disputing Alba's part in
what looked like a handball in blocking Antoine Griezmann's effort at the other
end moments before.

That left Atletico with a mountain to climb in the second-half,
trailing 3-2 in the match and two goals down on aggregate. Away goals provided
the challenging proposition of them requiring three unanswered goals in
forty-five minutes, to continue their cup interest. For some of the players it
was proving too much to take and rather bizarrely they were reduced to ten men
before the resumption in play, as Gabi was sent off while going down the tunnel
at half-time. The fiery moment seemed to be triggered after Neymar had been
seen arguing with some of the home players, as the teams left the pitch.

The ill-discipline displayed by Diego Simeone's men
continued in the second-half, as Arda Turan strangely decided to throw his boot
at one point as tempers flared.

Mario Suarez capped a dismal night for the home
fans as he also saw red late on, after being shown a second yellow card following
a foul on Messi. In truth, the game and Atletico's anger management had both
been long since lost by then, as the key decisions on the night seemed to go
against them.

Barcelona will now face either Getafe or Villareal in the
semi-finals of the competition.

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